Children, Youth and Schooling Disruption in the Netherlands During

Annette Richardson
Children, Youth and Schooling
Disruption in the Netherlands
During World War 11.
Education is one of the prime formative experiences in
the lives of children and adolescents. What, however,
if conditions of war disrupt this experience? Annette
Richardson reviews the schooling disruption in the
Netherlands during World War 11.
INTRODUCTION
Schooling during a child's formative years is central to the historica] human
experience and wields an important societal component. In this
preliminary overview the schooling experience of children and youth in
the Netherlands during World War 11 wil! be examined within the context
of the Schooling Disruption Model. This Model emerged from extensive
archival research, personal interviews, government and ministry of
education reports, secondary articles and books, diaries and Internet
sources. The accumulated evidence indicates that schooling is affected
deleteriously as soon as a conflict commences and deteriorates to the point
of cessation as the conflict is prolonged. The Schooling Disruption Model
findings that recently have been published in historica] and educational
literature is a pattern that has permeated twentieth century history of
education but has only recently become a new field of inquiry.l
As Appendix A indicates, some of the salient points of schooling
disruption are as follows: one, schools are used for the conflict's purpose
whether for billeting troops, as military hospitals or as transit depots. Two,
teachers are removed and replaced by collaborators. Three, the oppressor
See Annette Richardson, 'Anatomy ofSchooling Disruption', TnternationalJournal
of Edueational Policy, Research and Praetiee 2000, and Idem, 'Conflict and the
Disruption of the Schooling Odyssey of Africa's Children' in: Malinda S. Smith
ed., Options Jor AJriea: Governanee, Development and Culture (Philadelphia 2000).
325
Richardson
changes the curriculum to conform to his ideological stance. Four,
deprivations result in a pa ucity of teaching tools that hinder effeetiveness
of schooling. Five, deportations, whether for labour or combat purposes,
wreak irrevocable devastation on the lives of children and youth. Fifth and
finaJJy, the cumulative effect of all these factors contribute to the disruption
of schooling which in many conflict situations continue for years. 2 These
major points have minor variables according to the geographic, economie
and political persuasion of the conflict.
The World War lAlsace Lorraine educational experience, World War
II experiences in occupied countries, and the more recent confliets in
Afghanistan, Burma, Nigeria, and Somalia, to name a few, are some
examples that indicate that a schooling disruption pattern is applicable.
This research topic is not restricted to renegade dictators as the World War
II experience in the etherlands attests.
Two connecting questions will be posed in this paper. One asks 'What
happened to the various levels of'schooling' during World War II in the
Occupied etherlands?' The answer to this question will answer the second
question which is 'Does the Schooling Disruption Model correspond to
the etherlands World War IJ schooling experience?'
Terminology
Conflict, especially if it is prolonged, disrupts 'schooling' which in this
paper will be used as a verb. lt therefore is defined as the formal element of
attending school, which consists of a non-random, structured and timebound program with certified teachers, a recognized prescribed curriculum, evaluations and exams, all in a formal educational environment. In
other words, schooling is the formal educational scholastic process that
children and youth receive from pre- kindergarten to the end of their first
post secondary program. For purposes of this discussion, children and
youth are considered to be individuals between the ages of five and twentyfour who are registered in a formal school program. The distinction of
schooling from education is significant: education is a lifelong process
which continues long after forma] schooling has ceased and can be obtained
outside a formal setting through life experiences. Schooling disruption in
the Netherlands during World War IJ and its effect on children and youth,
rather than education, is the focus of this paper.
2
326
Due to the brevity of this article the family factor will be omitted.
Children, Youth and Schooling Disruption
Invasion 1940
Duáng World War II the Netherlands was occupied, from May 10,1940 to
May 5,1945, by the German Nazis, (hereafter Occupiers). No one was fuUy
prepared, mentaUy, moraUy nor academically, when the Germans invaded
the Netherlands. 3 The relatively quick capitulation on May 15,1940, after
the Germans unconscionably destroyed Rotterdam and threatened more
tenor, was deemed expedient by the unprepared Netherlands government.
HitIer appointed the Catholic, Austrian bom lawyer Arthur Seysslnquart, (1892-1946) a minister without portfolio in his cabinet, to govern
the Netherlands. 4 Also known as the Austrian quisling Seyss-Inquart had
been described by HitIer as 'extraordinarily clever, as supple as an eel'.5 On
May 29, 1940 Seyss-Inquart was formaUy installed as Reichskommissar für
die niederlandische Gebiete (State Commissioner for the Netherlands
Territory), but excluding the Netherlands lndies. Seyss-Inquart's mandate
gave him responsibility for total powers of the Crown, the su pervision of
the Netherlands' civil administration, all the Netherlands' agencies then in
existence, as weil as governing through his four Generalkommissars (General
Commissioners ).
In his inaugural speech Seyss-Inquart claimed that Germany had no
imperial designs in mind whatsoever for the Netherlands. He stated that
'we will neither oppress this land and its people imperialisticaUy nor wiU
we impose on them our political convictions. We wiU bring this about in
no other way - only through our deportment and example'.6 The initial
civility of the Germans surprised the Netherlands populace.
3
4
5
6
See R. D. Kollewijn, 'The Dutch Universities Under Nazi Domination' in: Thorsten
Sellin ed., The Annals ofthe American Academy of Poli/ical and Social Science Vol.
245 Special Edition, N.W. Posthumus ed.,'The Netherlands During German
Occupation' (May 1946)118.
Seyss-Inquart was appointed by Hitier and in the unique position of being
accountable directly to him. They met eight times from 1940 to 1942 and only
three times after 1942. (De Jong), 4-1: 62. Canadian troops captured him. He was
tried at Nuremburg, found guilty of crimes against humanity, sentenced to death
and executed in1946. See H.T. Neumann, Arthur Seyss-Tnquart (Styria 1970).
Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, translators, Hitler's Table Talk 1941-1944:
His Private Conversations, (London 1953) 344.
Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, 10 volumes, (Nuremberg 1947-1949) II, 989.
327
Richardson
I. PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
In 1940 the educational system in the Netherlands was rather complex and
richly differentiated as illustrated in Appendix A: it mirrored the strongly
pillarized society. Legislatively education was governed by relatively old
Acts that many educators and poJiticians believed did not require change
because the system worked quite smoothly. The Primary School Act had
been passed in 1920. The 1837 Secondary Act and the 1887 Higher
Ed ucation Act completed the educationallevels. The Ministry ofEd ucation
had been established only in 1918. 7 Schooling in the Netherlands was
mandatory. Students wrote final examinations to advance to the next levels. Teacher training was in force and the curriculum was strictly executed.
The population of the Netherlands at the time of the invasion was
approximately 9 million. In 1940, some 2,500,000 children and youth
ranging in age Erom the age ofsix to twenty-one were enrolled in the various
stages and levels of the educational system. 8
The post secondary system was composed of the vocational higher
schools and the academie universities. The student population was an elite
group largely derived from the upper classes of Netherlands' society. Post
secondary educational institutions in 1940 were: the State Universities of
Leiden, Groningen, and Utrecht, the Roman Catholic University of
Nijmegen, the Municipal University of Amsterdam and the Free (Orthodox Calvinist) University ofAmsterdam. The higher vocational institutions
included Delft Technical School, the Agricultural School at Wageningen,
the Netherlands School of Economics at Rotterdam and the Roman
Catholic Tilburg School of Economics, Social Science and Law. In the
1938/39 academie year the student population in both the higher schools
and the universities totalled 12,592 while in the 1939/40 academie year the
registrations were significantly lower at 11,251. 9
7
8
9
328
See Nan L. Dodde, Geschiedenis van hel Nederlandse schoolwezen (Purmerend
1981) and Idem, Het Nederlandse Onderwijs Verandert: Ontwikkelingen sinds
1800 (Muiderberg 1983) for detailed histories ofthe Netherlands' education system.
C. van Eden, 'The Education of Youth' in: Thorsten Sellin ed., The AI1I1als of lhe
American Academy ofPolitical and Social Science 245, Special Edition, N.W. Posthumus ed., 'The Netherlands During German Occupation' (May 1946) 132.
Netherlands Ministry of Education, Hel Onderwijs in 1940 Cs-Gravenhage J 943)
30.
Chi/dren, Youth and 5choo/ing Oisruption
11. DISRUPTION OF PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS
Ä. SCHOOLS
The Occupiers imposed adversarial changes on the elementary and
secondary system the day they marched into the Netherlands. Schools were
used immediately for military purposes; the Occupiers appropriated school
buildings for their war effort. Educational institutions, especially large
ecclesiastical boarding schools in the heavily Roman Catholic south were
quickly evacuated to house troops. The Occupier's bureaucracy also
inhabited schools. Emergency children's hospitals were housed in school
buildings and many schools later served as Red Cross sites. Some schools
became transportation depots whether for labour, Jews or students and
teachers. In the later phase of the Occupation schools became food
distribution centres. One school became a bordello for the Nazi officers. 1D
Consequently schools that remained open became severely
overcrowded and eventuaJly emergency schools had to be improvised. To
continue holding classes, schools were established in any available space
large enough to accommodate the large cluster of students. Schools were
set up in various places: stables, garages, vestry rooms, lofts and cellars,
farmers' sheds, living rooms, bakeries, workplace lunchrooms. Frequently
schools were spread across up to six or seven different buildings. Schooling
in many instances was conducted in two shifts. By 1943 some schools had
been re-established up to ten times. As the Nazi war machinery and
administration increased in size the loss of school buildings had become
desperate. The smooth flow of the educational system was thus impeded
and the children undoubtedly had some difficulty adjusting to these frequent changes. By 1943 all the schools in the Netherlands were being used
for military purposes. 11
Destruction of Schools
Some schools could not be used for military purposes. Many school
buiJdings had been partially destroyed rendering them unusable. For
example, in Hengelo, Overijssel, an industrial town near the German borlO L. F. Kleiterp, 'Het Lager en Voortgezet Onderwijs' in: Onderdrukking en Verzet:
Nederland in Oorlogstijd, Vol. 3 (Arnhem 1955) 289.
1 I G.A. van Poelje, 'Overheidsbemoeiingen met het onderwijs' in: Onderdrukking en
Verzet: Nederland in Oorlogstijd, Vol. 3 (Arnhem 1955) 289.
329
Richardson
Two British paratroopers enter the ruins of a ULO School near
Arnhem (1944; Photo: British Official Press).
der, the HBS Wilhelmina School was closed in 1943 due to its proximity to
heavy bombing. The school was within the Stork complex that erroneously
had been perceived by the AlEes as a weapons factory. The Allied aim was
not only Stork but also the adjacent marshalling yards which bordered the
school grounds. The Allies achieved their goal of destruction when in one
episode 97 tons ofbombs were dropped on Hengelo. 12 The devastation was
horrendous. Accordingly, due to frequent interruptions the school was
forced to hold classes in two other schools, the Beukweg School and the
Wilbert School. There was a considerable distance between the former school
and the latter two schools. HBS Wilhelmina Schoors two first year classes,
two second year classes, two third year classes and the fourth and fifth year
classes were divided into two separate categories.
The Netherlands had its measure of partially destroyed or destroyed
schools. During World War IJ in the Netherlands some 484 schools had
been destroyed partially: 359 elementary schools, eighty vocationaJ schools
12 Henk van Baaren, '71 Marauders gooiden 97 tonnen bommen op Hengelo', Oald
Hengel 19 no. 5 (October 1994) 107.
330
Children, Youth and Schooling Disruption
and forty-five secondary schools suffered extensive damage. 13 Yet other
school buildings were bombed and many were irreparably destroyed. At
war's end some 315 schools in the Netherlands had been destroyed
completely.'4 Elementary schools, which were the most heavily used,
physically experienced the most severe damage. This level lost 293 schools.
Ten vocational schools and twelve secondary schools also were completely
destroyed. The main building and library of Nijmegen University were set
afire in 1945 by the retreating Occupiers. Similarly, the buildings of
Wageningen's Agricultural School were so heavily bombed that it too was
destroyed. School buildings obviously play an important role during conflict situations.
B. TEACHERS
Outgoing
Teachers play a fundamental role in schooling disruption. Teachers are
role modeIs, they act in loco parentis and play a crucial integral role in the
holistic development ofthe child. The bond that children and youth share
with their teacher is of utmost importance to their psychological and
cognitive development. As the German invasion progressed the emotional
and pedagogical ties to their teacher quite often was the only normaley
children and youth could expect. Staffing the schools during conflict
situations created crucial problems because the Occupiers made teachers
prime targets for inclusion in the conflict, whether teachers agreed or
disagreed with Nazi policies.
Seyss-Inquart and his minions removed teachers from their positions
at all the educationallevels by their interference with the appointments
decree. As early as August 1940 Jews were denied their constitutional right
to teach in schools and were summarily dismissed. On September 30,
1940 any new appointments ofJewish teachers were restricted except in
Jewish schools. By November 1940 the Occupational Government had
removed the majority of the Jewish professors from their secondary and
post secondary level positions. ls Moreover, on January 9, 1942 a new decree
13 Netherlands Ministry of Education, Het Onderwijs in Nederland verslag over de
jaren 1944, 1945, en 1946 (1949) 50.
14 Ibidem,50.
15 See Annette Richardson, 'Expurgating }ewish Faculty During the Netherlands'
Nazi Occupation: 1940-1943', World Studies in Educatiol1, Volume 2, No 2, (2000).
331
Richardson
A teacher appointed by the Occupational Government. Source: Ministry of Education,
Netherlands. Uitleg Extra NO.1, (25 April 1990) 20.
was issued which prevented teachers whom the Occupiers earl ier had
dismissed were restricted from obtaining teaching positions elsewhere in
the etherlands. '6
A shortage of teaching professionals also affected the elementary and
secondary educational system. This occurred because in 1942 the
Occupational Government introduced compulsory labour service and
reassigned teachers and principals to labour intensive work such as farming
or construction. In early 1943 the azis decreed th at approximately twenty
percent of the total of the remaining male teachers were to be deported to
Germany to work as labourers. H owever, only two percent of that particular
labour quota was met. l ? In anticipation of problems many professors were
arrested by the Occupiers and held hostage at the St. Michielsgestel seminary
to ensure that students would report for labour duty.
16 Van Poelje, 273.
17 Van Eden, 132.
332
Children, Youth and Schooling Disruption
Incoming
The result of removing all of these teachers was that an unknown teacher,
often a non-professionalloyal to the new regime and generally new to the
community was appointed by the Occupiers to take over the classes. In
many schools Nationale Socialistische Bond (National Socialist Bond,
hereafter NSB) party members or those afüliated with the Occupational
Government were appointed to teach in the primary and secondary schools,
vocational schools and universities. These new teachers were required to
bring in aculturally appropriate new curriculum, one that conformed to
Nazi ideology. Consequently, within a few years after the German invasion
many schools in the Netherlands had teachers who were not qualified to
teach but who had the right connections.
Teacher training
Since the Germans were assured of the superiority of their educational
system they believed it was their duty to introduce new teacher training
methods. As the conflict progressed continued the Occupiers purposely
aimed to 'Nazify' the teacher training school program. The Occupational
Government's bureaucracy believed that it could infuse student teachers
with Nazi ideology and that the elementary education level in turn would
yield good Nazis. In 1941 student teachers were forced to study the
components of Nazi Normal Schools. A new teacher training curriculum
that included such courses as Nazi ideology and marching was introduced.
These courses were to be of six months' duration, and without having
completed these courses, the Occupiers would not allow new teachers to
take up their positions.
C. CURRICULUM
The third step the Occupiers used was to implement considerable
ideological change to the extant curriculum. The heavily pervasive Nazi
ideology was distinguished through language change, propaganda, and
textbook censorship, destruction ofbooks, propaganda and a pronounced
militaryemphasis.
333
Richardson
Language
It did not take long for Berlin to impose the German language on the
etherlands' educational system. This was a very important goal and
imperative for spreading Nazi ideology and creating a Gross-Deutschland
or Pan-German state. Consequently, German language training was to
commence in the VG LO schools of the eight year elementary school program. (See Appendix B) The secondary schools were also forced to include
German language in the curriculum. A foreign language element
traditionally was included at this level but the compulsory element greatly
irritated most Netherlanders. Many students came to hate the subject
because it represented the Nazi regime. Students indicated their displeasure
by purposely failing their German language examinations although the
Occupiers reported to Berlin that results were satisfactory.
Textbooks
The Occupiers' propaganda and doctrine proclaimed through curriculum
changes were manifested through textbooks which were an invaluable
tooI for the dissemination of Nazi ideology. In the Netherlands books that
had been defaced with caricatures of Hit/er were at first ordered to be
destroyed by the Occupiers but they relented by merely tearing out the
offensive pages. 18 Textbooks were examined by several Department of
Education advisory committees, created in 1942, for ideas the Nazis
discouraged. Stricter controls were announced on March 25, 1942. All
works that had pertained to Judaism as weIl as any Marxist, anti-German
or anti National Sociali t literature were forbidden and on September 16,
1942 all the works of Jewish authors were eliminated from the curriculum. 19 Any reference to the etherlands' Royal Family was censored and
the photographs ofliving Royal Family members were removed. 20 Likely
this was due to Hitler's rage that Queen Wilhelmina had escaped before his
troops reached her palace. However, the Netherlands' textbooks had never
been particularly anti-German: of the approximately 5,000 books that
students surveyed in secondary education, only 155 were subjected to
18 Van Poelje, 262.
19 Netherlands Ministry ofEducation, Hel Onderwijs in 1942 ('5 Gravenhage 1943)
13.
20 KJeiterp, 281.
334
ehildren, Youth and Schooling Disruption
censorship, and most of these were changed only slightly.21 Many school
books, post secondary library books and public library books considered
offensive to the Occupiers were destroyed. As early as 1933 Nazis in Berlin
made bonfires out of books, depriving generations of students of souree
materials.
Propaganda
The Nazis also excessively used propaganda techniques to dehumanize
their perceived 'enemy', in their case Jews, gypsies and homosexuals, to
denigrate their opponents. The Occupational Government introduced a
pamphlet entitled Our Forebears that it believed depicted the high cultural
level the Germans the deemed they had reached. This pamphlet was meant
to foster German racial pride in etherlanders. The Occupiers made the
pamphlet compulsory reading at the elementary level. An attempt also was
made to locate a historical souree that described N etherlanders as an
offshoot of the Germanic world, and eligible for a daughterly relationship
with Hitler's Reieh.
Military emphasis
Another area where Nazis tried to convert students to their ideology was
through curriculum changes. At the secondary level education changed
during the Occupation with the implementation ofGerman style physical
education. Traditionally in the etherlands gymnastic clubs had been a
municipal rather than educationally oriented responsibility. The
educational authorities in the Netherlands had only recently settled the
question of physical education in the schools, which had become
compulsory only as late as 1940. This subject naturally appealed to the
Nazis but they wanted a more military, drill-like gymnastics program with
which the Netherlands educrats disagreed. 22
D. DEPRIVATIONS
H istorically during conflict situations, economie resources are diverted to
the conflict's purposes. The prolonged Occupation engendered serious
21 Van Eden, 135.
22 The term 'educrats' is an amalgam of education and bureaucrat.
335
Richardson
deprivations from lack of transportation) health-care services and a paucity
of adequate clothing and food that contributed immensely to schooling
disruption in the etherlands and detrimentally affected school age
children and youth.
School supplies
The scarcity of school supplies engendered many obstacles to the
Netherlands' education system. During the fust school year after the invasion
the paper supply was ufficient as provisions were still on hand but as the
Occupation progressed paper became increasingly scarce. As the war
proceeded the paper shortage became acute and this provided a major
impediment to teaching. Students' note books consisted of lower grade
paper and were rationed; in many places students were forced to use slates.
By 1943 fooiscap was used and by 1944 paper was unavailable.
Stern measures also had to be taken in the publication of textbooks.
School administrators throughout the Occupation years requested
republishing of extant textbooks but in many instances the requests were
denied, often for petty reasons. 23 Consequently, students were forced to
use out-of-date and diverse editions making teaching a difficult task.
The paucity of teaching materials provided considerable hardships in
teaching school children and youth. 24 Shortages contributed substantially
to difficulty in teaching subjects such as needlework, physics, chemistry,
and industrial training programs. ecessary supplies were rationed severely
and most ofthe educational equipment was removed by the Occupiers for
use in Germany. To further complicate matters the wooden desks and
chairs were removed and used for firewood. At the elementary levels the
scarcity of cutting scissors, pencils, pens, crayons) and science equipment
occurred - rendering effective schooling impossible. Obviously the quality
of schooling suffered.
23 Each wartime Ministry ofEducation report has sections on the textbook publication
dilemma faced by the Netherlands' teachers. This topic is worthy of a separate
investigation.
24 See 'Child Education', URL: http://www.davison.kJ2.mi.uslacademiclglobal.educa/l.h/m, (1/29/99) 1 of 2.
336
Children, Youth and Schooling Disruption
Transportation
Transportation, or lack thereof, to school buildings creates considerable
difficulties during conflict situations and contributes significantly to the
disruption of schooling. Many children and youth in the Netherlands used
public transportation such as buses or trains. The Occupiers, as early as
1940, confiscated public and private vehicles. Railway tracks were destroyed
and fuel restrictions were implemented. By late 1940 the conveyances
used to maintain school transportation were redirected for use in Germany
or for repairs of the Occupiers' military machinery. Children and youth
resorted to taking bicycles. But as the contlict progressed the Occupiers
confiscated the majority ofbicycles, which left the students no alternative
but to walk. Unless they had a permit, students could ea ily be picked up
off the street and deported. Continuous shelling of the main transportation
routes, and damage from bombings also contributed to a dangerous journey
to the school site.
Health
The blockade against Germany and the German Occupied countries
resulted in a debilitating paucity of c1othing, blankets and food. The
detrimental diminished production ofthe etherlands' economy was partly
at fault but that was purposely directed by the azis. The lack of adequate
clothing materials resulted in many children and youth attending school
in bare feet. Before the April -May strike many students had already died of
exhaustion and malnutrition. 15 The health situation from 1944 to 1945
became so severe that twenty percent of ch ildren from age four to thirteen
were malnourished; the same percentage applied to chiJdren and youth
from age fourteen to twenty.16 In Utrecht malnutrition figures doubled, in
Hilversum the numbers tripled and in Amsterdam and Rotterdam the
figures tripledY Seyss-lnquart's response to a call for a nation-wide railway
25 Kollewijn,3 :127.
26 }. Breunis, 'The Food Supply' in: Thorsten Sellin ed., The ArlYlals of the American
Academy of Politica I and Social Science, Vol. 245, Special Edition, N.W. Posthumus ed., 'The Netherlands During German Occupation' (May 1946).
27 C. Banning, 'Food Shortage and Public Health, First Half of 1945 in: Thorsten
SeLlin ed., The Annals ofthe American Academy ofPolitica Iand Social Science, Vol.
245, Special Edition, N.W. Posthumus ed., 'The Netherlands During German
Occupation' (May 1946) 108.
337
Richardson
strike by the Netherlands' government in exile in London in 1944 deprived
the populace of food. Enough provisions to feed the country were available
in trains which Seyss-Inquart purposely prevented from reaching the starving heavily populated west. Ultimately Seyss- Inquart was responsible for
approximately 25,000 deaths due to malnutrition during the Hunger Winter of 1944-1945. By this time schooling had ceased in the etherlands.
E. DISPLACEMENT
Geographical
Often during conflict situations thousands of children and youth 'are
forcibly removed, abducted from their homes, orphanages, schools, or public
streets.'28 This also occurred in the Netherlands. The labour service imposed
on the Netherlands populace by the Occupiers played a most significant
role in the increasingly desolate educational picture. The Occupiers in
1942 quite actively pursued labour conscription to support their war machine. The first labour action from April to September 1942 netted the
Nazi war effort more than a million and a halfforeign workers. 29 Of this
figure the Netherlands was forced to contribute 25,395 labourers. 30
The student population was seen as a solution to one of the most pressing
problems HitIer faced; the need for labourers to work in his war economy.
The second labour drive, held from August to December 1942 resulted in
a huge increase to 98,000 deportations from the etherlands. 31 Of these
numbers, approximately 8,000 were students. 32
The Occupational Government continually increased their quotas for
even these numbers did not satisfy the Nazis in Germany. German military losses, especially in the Soviet Union, had been devastating and these
losses created an immense replacement need. 33 To facilitate Albert Speer's
increasingly higher labour quotas German soldiers carried out
28 'Massacre of the Innocents', UN ChronicIe 35 4 (AJabama 1998) I of 3.
29 Edward Homze, Foreign Labor in Nazi Germany (Princeton 1967) 137.
30 Louis de jong, Het Koninkrijk Der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog, Twelve
volumes, ('s-Gravenhage 1974),6-2: 779-782.
31 International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg 1947- 1949) 27: 117.
32 'De Dreigende Deportatie', De Geus Onder Studenten, Extra Nummer (December
1942) I.
33 joseph Goebbels noted in his diary that 'a total of 952,141 (including 29,572
of/kers)' had been lost. Source: Louis Lochner ed., The Goebbels Diaries J 9421943 (NewYork 1948) 112.
338
Children, Youth and Schooling Disruption
simultaneous dragnet raids in many communities. 34 Many students were
detrimentally affected by this drive for modern day slaves which came to
those universities and vocational higher schools that had not yet closed.
One such raid, on 6 February 1943, resulted in 221 students from Amsterdam, including 75 from the Free University, 250 from Delft, 130 from
Utrecht, and 40 fram Wageningen being forcibly removed from their
desks, their laboratories, hospitals and libraries by the Nazis; theyarrested
the students and immediately deported them to Vught, a transit station
where they would stay before going to the labour camps in Germany.35
FemaJe students too, were required to report for labour duty but they were
not deported, their labour would take place in the etherlands rather than
in Germany.36
In a semblance of his benevolence toward students Hitler had an
Ordinance issued on March 11, 1943 that stipulated if a student signed a
loyalty oath to him, the student could continue his program as long as the
labour quota was fulfilled. Refusal to sign this meant the student would be
considered unemployed and eligible to work in Germany. Ultimately by
May 1943less than twenty percent of Amsterdam's students, ten percent
ofUtrecht's students, twenty-five percent ofDelft's students, seven percent
of Groningen's students, ten percent of Rotterdam's students, ten percent
ofWageningen's students, and only three students from Tilburg signed the
loyalty declaration. 37 The 3800 students who had obeyed the summons
and signed the declaration nonetheless were deported to Germany on May
5,1943. 38
Hitler by this time was in a foul mood. His recall of the re-internment
of the 200,00 demobilized etherlands soldiers to bolster hi labour force
resulted in the retaliatory but entirely spontaneous April-May strike by the
etherlands'workers that had erupted at the Stork complex in Hengelo
and resulted in the first nationwide active resistanee act of the war.39 Hi tIer
consequently declared martial law to contral the populaee and any
34 See Homze.
35 Nederlands Instituut voor Oorlogs Documentatie, (herafter 100), NIOD, 79\
Doe.Il. See also De Jong, 6-2: 615.
36 NIOD, 79\, Doe. Il.
37 NIOD, 791, Doe. 11.
38 NIOD, 199A .
39 C.B. Cornelissen and J. Slettenhaar, In de schaduw van de adelaar, (Enschede
1982) 235. P.). Bouman, De April-Mei Stakingen van 1943 ('s-Gravenhage 1950)
is the classic work on the strike.
339
Richardson
semblance of the so called German civility disappeared. The Occupiers
had taken 'the iron fist right out of its velvet glove'.4o After the brutal
suppression of the strike, students easily became intimidated once the
Occupational Government threatened their parents with reprisals. Many
students believed that conscription to Germany was their only alternative.
Of the 65,000 Netherlanders deported in June and July of 1943, some
41,000 were students under the age of eighteen and at the war's end it is
thought that approximately 80,000 Dutch students under age twenty-one
were working in Germany; of this total only 4,200 had voluntarily reported
to the Occupational Government,41
Jewish children and youth were not spared from deportation. In what
has become known as the 'children's shipment,' in May 1943, some
'[sJ ixteen thousand child ren were loaded in the cars. Where children were
under 4 years of age their mothers were sent along, and either the father or
the mother with children of 4 to 16 years of age, but never both ....About
105,000 Jews were deported from the Netherlands, and of those about 4,000
survived the war' .42
In some secondary schools the Occupiers removed and took the whole
Jewish male student population as labour conscripts to Germany. One
particular raid had elicited some 425 Jewish students for deportation. 43
These boys, who had been removed from their school without notification
to their families and deported suffered grievously in the camps. They had
been sent to Mauthausen, a work camp built around a stone quarry where
most prisoners were worked to death. Many of these students, accustomed
to intellectual endeavours, were forced to work at mallllal labour up to
ninety hours a week, sometimes in shifts that lasted up to thirty-six hours.
The severe maltreatment to which they were subjected could only be
tolerated for a short length of time. Some of the boys, still wet from a
shower, were purposely thrown against the electrical fence around the
quarry. Jn an indisputably courageous act of defiance, ten of the Jewish
40 Peter Calvocoressi and Guy Wint, Total War (Harmondsworth 1979) 266.
41 Van Eden, 139.
42 J,F. Krop, 'The )ews under the Nazi Regime', Thorsten Sellin ed., TheAnnals ofthe
American Academy of Politica Iand Social Science 245, Special Edition, N.W. Posthumus ed.,'The Netherlands During German Occupation' (May 1946) 28. See
also, the classic work on this topic, J. Presser, Ondergang, De Vervaging en Verdelging van het Nederlandse Jodendom: /940-/945. Two Volumes. ('s-Gravenhage
1965).
43 De Jong, 4-2: 892.
340
Children, Youth and Schooling Disruption
boys 'linked arms and voluntarûy plunged to their deaths in the pit rather
than su bmit any longer to the torture of their Austrian SS guards'. 44 These
haunting instances are indicative of the stress and hopelessness the students
must have feIt under undeniably honiflc circumstances. Undoubtedly the
students suffered atrocious, inhumane treatment at a time in their lives
when they should have been enjoying their youth.
SCHOOLING DISRUPTION
Absence
School absences during the Occupation period were the result of
malnutrition, labour drives, lack of conveyances, and lack of clothing and
shoes. Over a five year period the physiology ofstudents changed and scarcity
of new clothing often prevented school attendance. The Occupier imposed
restrictions and racial policies against }ewish students who were not allowed
to attend classes at public schools as of September 1941. 45 One can readily
believe Van Baaren, who, in his reminiscences, indicated that all the }ewish
children had slowly disappeared. The effect of all these measures by 1943
resulted in a very substantial reduction in student enrolment.
Before 1943 the absences at elementary schools were not alarming, but
after this decisive year absences climbed sixfold. 46 In large part absences
were due to war deprivations. Some students lacked adequate clothing and
shoes and others were too malnourished and too ill to attend school. Yet
other chûdren and youth worked to supplement the family income. Some
parents purposely kept their children home to help in the search for wood
and food. In addition, the shortage ofbicycle tires, continuous shelling of
the main transportation routes, and damage from bombings also
contributed to the rise in absences.
Several statistics indicate the severity of the absence rates. The lower
junior level ofsecondary education schools on December 31, 1943 reported
a seventy percent absence rate out of a total student enrolment of
1,172,336. 47 This left a significant number of students without their
44 Erik Hazelhoff Roeizema, Soldier of Orange, (London 1982) 214.
45 Ministry of Education, Het Onderwijs in 1941 ('s-Gravenhage 1942) 27. See also
A.M. Donner, 'Het Protestants-Christelijk Onderwijs' in: Onderdrukking en Verzet: Nederland in Oorlogstijd Vol. 3, (Arnhem 1955) 294.
46 Van Eden, 138.
47 Netherlands Ministry of Education, AI1I'lUal Report 1944, 1945, and 1946, 224.
341
Richardson
schooling. The Occupation also effectuated schooling absences at the post
secondary level. The percentage of post secondary attendance of the entire
eighteen to twenty-five year age group dropped from 14.5 per cent in 1940
to 1.2 per cent in 1943 to zero per cent in 1944. 48 A comparison of
enrolments in the universities and vocational post secondary institutes,
from 1940 to 1945 indicates that enrolment increased in the early years of
the Occupation, as seen in Appendix C Tables 1 and 2. By enrolling in post
secondary institutions students believed they could circumvent being called
up for labour duty in Germany. Absences plummeted drastically by 1943.
In the 1943/44 academie year only 1,046 students were enrolled at the
universities and apaItry 136 students had registered at the vocationallevel.
They were enroUed, but not necessarily attending.
Closure
At Leiden, which was officially c10sed from November 27, 1940 to April
30, 1941, students were allowed to write their exams but the University
closed again on November 19, 1941.49 In the Netherlands, Delft University,
despite having students registered, closed as early as 1941 and remained so
until World War Il ended. Eventually, many non-collaborationist professors decided to cease giving university classes altogether. The Roman
Catholic University of Nijmegen and the Pree University of Amsterdam
voluntarily closed their doors in response to the loyalty declaration; the
first to do so. Groningen University's Law faculty refused to allow
examinations. Those professors from the Amsterdam Municipal University
who had not yet resigned, forwarded their resignations. After the AprilMay 1943 strike very few classes were held in the Netherlands, despite
collaborationist attempts to keep the universities open. Consequently,
schooling in the Netherlands was virtually at a standstiU by mid 1943 and
certainly completely so by 1944.
111 CONCLUSION
The questions posed at the beginning ofthis paper asked if the Netherlands'
wartime educational experience conformed to the Schooling Disruption
48 Netherlands Ministry of Education, Annual Report 1944, 1945, and 1946, 78.
49 Netherlands Ministry ofEducation, AI1I1Ual Report, 1944, 1945, and 1946, 78-79.
342
Children, Youth and Schooling Disruption
Model and whether the children and youth of the Netherlands were affected
by schooling disruption during World War 11. The material presented in
this paper indicates that the answer is an unequivocal yes, abso!utely, beyond
a doubt to both questions. The Netherlands' experience with schooling
disruption certainly corresponds to the Schooling Disruption Model. For
the sake ofbrevity only some salient factors have been emphasized in this
cursory overview. The steps that were taken by the Occupiers: use of school
buiJdings, establishing an educational administrative body, interfering with
appointment decrees, removing teachers from their positions, ethnic
cleansing of a particular group, (in this case Jews), use of propaganda as an
educational tooI, ideologicaUy oriented curriculum, deprivations and
cessation of schooling all indicate that a particular modus operandi, as laid
out in the Schooling Disruption Model, was used by the Occupiers to
implement changes in the Netherlands'education system. The model clearly
indicates that schools were used for the Occupiers' needs as opposed to that
of the populace. The disruptive changes due to conflict affect not only
children and youth but also schooling which is a vita! societal component
that influences the economy, polities, religion, education, health, law, the
publishing industry and economics among others. And conversely schools
are affected by all these societal changes.
The lesson to be learned from the Netherlands' experience is that not
only government officials and administrators but the populace as well
needs to be made aware how easily political conflict can create havoc and
undermine an educational system. The political interference of an
oppressor, invader, rebel group or counter-insurgency movement can
undermine the schooling that is so crucial for the formative years of a
nations' children and youth. Perhaps the answer to prevent schooling
disruption in the future is to create a national policy that grants schools the
same sanctuary as churches and hospi tals in time of war and peace. Making
schooling disruption due to political conflict a crime against humanity
punishable by death might be a deterrent. A1though it is unlikely that the
Netherlands wil! be invaded again it might be a step in the right direction to
debate this very serious topic and devise a contingency program After all,
few etherlanders believed that Hitler would invade their country in 1940.
343
Richardson
PPE OfX A
SCHOOL/ G I)ISR PTJO
MODEL
I. Pre-existing Conditions:organized education systems
schools. formal curriculum. exams, teacher training, ministry of cd ucal ion, teacher organizalions,
parent organizations, compulsory attendance, education laws.
11. Di ruptions ofpreexisting condition
SCHOOLS
hospital ,administration, barracks
partially desLroyed, completely desLroyed
TEACHERS
oUlgoing, incoming
teacher shortage, teac~er training
< •
CURRICUL M
language, lextbooks
propaganda, ~ililary emphasis
I-IILDREN AND YOUTH
family, extended family, economie
!
DEPR/VATIO S
school suppl ies. Iransportation
foo?, health
<,
DISPLA EMENT
geographical economie
lil CHOOL DI 'RUPllO
absence, closure, cessation
344
Children, Youth and Schooling Disruption
STIWcr RE OF
APPE DIX B:
ETHERL
0' EDUCATJO
Gymnasium
1940
Universill s
Lyc(,lIm
c-
Tcchnical cull<-r:<-
i\f:rlcllllllral
Cran\"\nr Jo-clUNJI
cnll('!:~
CollcJ.:c of l'('O"O"lIC~
Girls seconclary
!lCho...1
omm
"ch"... I
rc~
1III:her homel
I
Z
Primary
'-- leacher
training college
i~en.s~~. lig aM
hor
.
i N'lUllcal school
.,'"0
c
3'
c.:
ö1
.,
'"
'"
~
Sen. lech. school
J\dvelem.teffi
Ihome "r MI
.~
'"
Q.
Q.
~
"r ;;,1
'--
C
n
~
ö'
Ö
:>
:>
commcd.?
lun ,cc. ar:. and I
I":
,,1
I
I
Special primary Nlucation
345
Richardson
APrE DIX C:
PO 'T E 0
UNIVERSITIES
1940/41
Leiden
2410
DARY E ROLMENT: 1940-1945.
1941/42
1942143
194311944
Utrechl
2905
3898
2506
350
Groningen
1047
1351
1233
107
Amsterdam
2786
3916
3095
589
1944/45
Free Amslerdam
714
1161
1217
Nijmegen
498
752
568
TOTAL
9720
11078
8619
1046
523
1943/44
1944145
523
VOCATIONAL
1940/41
1941/42
1942143
Dein
2611
2882
2832
Wageningen
669
829
701
Rotlerdam
827
1049
844
Tilhurg
330
422
400
324
TOTAL
4437
5182
2228
460
COMBI ED
TOTALS
14797
16260
13396
460
136
523
Source: elherJands Ministry of Education, Hel Onderwijs in J942. [ ducalion in 1942], 42,
and etherlands Ministry of -ducalion, Hel Onderwijs in Nederland vers/ag over de jaren
1944. 1945. en 1946. [Education in the etherlands 1944, 1945, and 1945]. 1949: 78.
346
Supplement
147
~
Verkrijgbaar bij deze boekhandels:
Atheneum, Spui 14-16, Amsterdam
Martyrium, van Baerlestaat 170-172, Amsterdam
Athena's, Oude Kijk in 't ]atstraat 42, Groningen
Boomker & Savenije, Zwanestraat 41-43, Groningen
Godert Walter, Oude Ehhingestraat 53, Groningen
Scholtens Wristers, Guldenstraat 20, Groningen
Dekkervd Vegt, Plein 1944 no. 129, Nijmegen
Losse nummers zijn ook verkrijgbaar bij Stichting Groniek, voor meer informatie zie colofon
Nieuw Nummer uit in Juli 2000
Nr. 149, Thema: Ideologie
348